He would go on to win OHL Rookie of the Year honors in 2008-09 with 40 goals and 40 assists in 60 games, capture a bronze medal with Russia’s 2009 World Junior Championship team, and then make the jump to the AHL with Hartford at age 19. He was the youngest player on the 2009-10 Wolf Pack roster and one of the youngest players in the American Hockey League this past season.

“There’s no question in my mind he’s going to be a top-six NHL forward down the road,” said Kevin Maxwell, a Rangers pro scout and former NHL player who watched Grachev at Hartford. “... I think he’s going to be in that 25 to 30 goal range and possibly 60 points.”

About Goal Line Report

Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.

Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.